Hi again Folks,

Finally we succeeded in uploading our pictures! We actually found out that the computer we had been using was not working properly - so not our fault at all!

A lot has happened since last time we wrote. Let´s start with our Machu Picchu trip.

Getting up way too early in the morning to go on this trip and driving forever... But we got to the starting point and was intorduced to our fellow trekking mates- Melanie and Hugo from Holland. Really nice people and we all agreed that it was great to be such a small group. Our tour guide, Victor, spoke good english, so no problems with the language. The first half hour of the trek it rained. Fortunately that was the only rain we saw on that trip! Even though the sun was not shining all the time - it was quite hot. Walking up and down those rocks keeps you sweaty and takes your breath away - literally speaking! We really felt the altitude working on our breathing.

The first day of the trek was easy and we were all highly motivated. Getting to the campsite at night, everything was ready for us; tents and food. Our porters were practically running on the trek.Quite amazing to watch since we were struggeling... Woke up the next morning with the one of the porters yelled "coca tea" outside our tent. Yes, tea served "in bed" at 5 in the morning, a great start! The second day was quite different from the first day. We had to climb a thoussand meters up the pass called "Dead Womens Pass". And we really understand why it´s called that! Up,up,up- rocks,rocks,rocks - no breath and pure pain in all muscles! And Majka had some stomach problems, which ment no energy for the climb-hard odds! Sometimes we were wondering if we ever would reach the top! But with lots of chocholate and energy drink we made it! 4215 meters above sea level and it was amazing up there!!! All worries and pain disappeared with the stunning views over the mountains! The worries and pain came back when starting to climb down again though...

Third day was just loooong! Think we walked for at least 10 hours, up and down,up and down, rocks and rocks, trying to catch breath... A lot of breaks were nescessary and that gave us time to enjoy the beautiful nature. Mountains covered with green green trees, blue sky with clouds casting their shadow on the mountains and in the middle of everything an Inca Site pops up... Amazing! The last night before actually visiting Machu Picchu was spent with a huge dinner with so many delicious treats and a beer (highly needed to take some of our muscle pain). Unfortunately Majka was not able to eat, such a waste!

Machu Picchu day!!!! Coca tea got us up in the morning at 4 am!!! And then off to the Sun Gate. Some people were just running ahead - that was impossible for us, our muscles were sore and Mette´s knee were causing some trouble. But we made it to the Sun Gate - and there was abslutely nothing sunny about that gate! It was covered in a cloud! So we couldn´t see Machu Picchu from there... Off to the lost Inca city... As we were walking the sky cleared up and the sun shone on Machu Picchu as we arrived. A very beautiful sight met us; Machu Picchu is really something special! Our guide gave us a tour of the city and told stories about the Incas, a great experience. After the tour we took a walk around the city and just enjoyed this magnificent wonder.

How nice it was to sleep in a bed after the trek!!! Great to be home in Cusco! All Sunday was spent with relaxation and hanging out with Camilla and Sebastian- and getting ready for going to Manu National Park in the Amazonas...

The Amazone trip... Quite different from the Inca trail! It was hot and humid! This time our group was 8 people big- nice people. Our guide was gourgeous - William in the Jungle! He knew everything about the jungle!

The first two days were spent with going to the Amazone. Driving all day the first day. Boat riding all second day.. We like the boat ride! The surroundings on the river were spectacular; you could see the mountains surrounding the jungle, all sorts of trees by the river bank and birds popping up here and there (with William going "WAUW" everytime he saw a bird). On the way to the lodge we stopped at a hot spring-mmmmm.... Going from the cold river water to the hot hot water, nice! And bonus - we got a free mud bath there!

Nice to finally reach the lodge. It was lying in the middle of the jungle covered in beautiful flowers,trees,palm trees and butterflies with all the colours of the world. After dinner everybody went to bed - around 8 pm! Yeah, well there isen´t much to do when the sun goes down in the jungle...Except for listening to all the strange sounds of the jungle, had to get used to that for sure! Early to bed, early up in the morning,ready for jungle trekking! Walking in the jungle is hot and humid! Everybody is sweating constantly... William was explaining all about which kind of forest we were in and all the animals...There were quite a few monkeys on our way, so cute! It is quite muddy in the jungle so we were glad to have our rubber boots. The mosquitos were hunting all the time so repellant was be sprayed on every hour (almost!). And even though we sprayed and sprayed... We are covered by bites (not only mosquitos,we think).

Night expeditions in jungle sounded a bit scary- but when we did it,it really wasen´t that big a deal.We saw a lot of creepy insects, including a tarantula (it was HUGE!). We also had a night expedition on the river to catch Caimans... We didn´t know what that was-but they look just like crocodiles and have the same temper as crocodiles (they can get as big as 5 meters!!! Scary!). While we were in the boat William went out looking for some to show us. Walking barefooted in total darkness in an area with Man eating creepy animals- not something we would do...EVER! But William met a huge Caiman that night - 2,5 meters long and a bit agressive... Didn´t want to play with that, so he went back to us-he was actually a bit scared - strange to see him like that. So no Caimans for us...

Food in the jungle was great! Our cook prepared great food for us and never left us hungry. Unfortunately Mette was a bit troubled with her stomach on this trip... But no big worries and we did all the walks and took all the challanges with our heads held high! Sometimes it was quite challenging overcoming bad ballance and vertigo when crossing small river in the jungle on thin, round and slippery wood pieces. And then there´s the creeps...

We were very lucky with the weather in the jungle as well as the weather on Machu Picchu. No rain!! We can´t imagine how it would have been with rain.... Horible!

We had some full day and night expeditions away from the lodge where we were camping somewhere on the river bank.That was really nice! Sleeping in tents and having dinner in the open with candles, very nice! Exceptfor the insects.... They are really actracted to you when getting "home" from a days trek in the jungle and you just smell of sweet sweat-they don´t care about any repellant (even though it contained a high percentage DEET!). A nice swim in the river helped with that... Mmmm,swimming in the Amazone river...We like!

All in all, the trip to the Amazone was great!

But also nice to come home to Cusco (even though it gets freezingly cold at night!). And here we are now... Two full days of relaxing.... So nice!!! Tonight we are leaving for Puno and Lake Titicaca taking the night bus at 10pm. We are looking forward to get to a new city and explore new sights!

So guys, we will go out to get some dinner before our 8 hour bus trip... Hope you´ll enjoy our pictures (we know that some of them wont show - we are trying to fix it). And as always- always great to hear from you guys! So don´t hesitate to drop us a line on the blog!

Masser af knus og varme hilsner fra Mette og Majka